Local Knowledge of Edible Flowers Used in Mizoram
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Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol 18(4), October 2019, pp 714-723 Local knowledge of edible flowers used in Mizoram SD Khomdram*,1,+, L Fanai1 & SD Yumkham2 1Department of Botany, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004, Mizoram, India 2Centre of Advanced Studies in Life Sciences, Manipur University, Canchipur 795 003, Manipur, India E-mail: [email protected] Received 04 April 2018; revised 21 June 2019 The edible flowers consumed by indigenous people of Mizoram were assessed from Aizawl and Champhai districts of Mizoram during 2015-2016. Altogether, 59 species of edible flowers under 50 genera and 29 families are recorded. Dominant families include Apiaceae, Lamiaceae and Leguminosae with 9% followed by Brassicaceae and Zingiberaceae scoring 7% each. Based on habit and occurrence, plants are categorized into wild (30), cultivated (21) and semi-cultivated (8). Among these plants, 30 species are marketable and 29 species are non-marketable. The study envisaged to highlight the importance of edible flowers in local cuisines of Mizo people and its potential as an additional source of food. It also attempted to document a first- hand report on the traditional knowledge on plant usage for consumption by the people of Mizoram. Keywords: Edible flowers, Mizo people, Wild edible plants IPC Code: Int. Cl.19: A01H 5/02, A23B 9/00 Since centuries, people have gathered plant resources as a source of human food7. In Assam, the flowers of with the uses of different plant parts as a source of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. and Sesbania grandiflora food, drink and medicine to fulfill their daily (L.) Pers. are taken as vegetable mainly by the Bodo requirements. Different parts of the plants like leaves, tribes8. tubers, rhizomes, shoots, fruits etc. are consumed to India being the mega-diverse region harbours rich meet the daily nutritional requirements of human biodiversity including the edible flowers9. The edible beings since prehistoric times which include the flowers commonly form part of the regular dish in cultivated and wild forms1,2. Among these different Assam and Manipur and are consumed after boiling or parts of the plants, flowers and flower buds of some frying, preparing curry or as raw which vary according plants are found to be edible and consumed in different to the floral species as well as the tribes and ways forming a part of delicacies in several dishes. The communities who use the items10,11. In Mizoram, one use of flowers in human diet for cookery are well of the north eastern states of India, houses many ethnic highlighted from various regions including Asia, communities and they have rich knowledge regarding Greece, Rome, France, Europe, etc3. Varieties of edible the use of various plants. They seek a lot of food items flowers are being served as salads, used to prepare from the wild plants and one of such item is the edible cakes and drinks in different parts of Europe and flowers which are usually considered as one of the Asia4,5. One of the greatest contributions on edible favorite dietary item among the vegetables. Although flowers was made by Lu et al. in 20166 that there have been sporadic reports on the wild edible documented as many as 180 species of edible flowers foods of Mizoram12-18, there is no specific from all over the world, most of which are cultivated documentation on the edible flowers found in the state. ones. The traditional use of flowers as a source of food The present study is an attempt to document the edible supplement was earlier reported from different regions. flowers both found in wild as well as cultivated ones The flowers of Madhuca indica is used as a source of specifically used by the indigenous people of Mizoram. staple food in peninsular India during summer and 1 Materials and methods monsoon . An Indian patent has been filed for antioxidant liquid sweetener from fresh M. indica Study Area flowers and this show the importance of edible flowers Mizoram is a hilly state lying in North-East India ————— (Latitude 21°58′/24°35′N and longitude 92°15′/ *Corresponding author 93°29′E) and forms a part of Indo-Burma hotspot. The KHOMDRAM et al.: LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF EDIBLE FLOWERS USED IN MIZORAM 715 state is considered as a corridor zone that bridges other vegetative parts or sometimes the whole plant. India with other South East Asian countries, and Market surveys on the market price of marketable edible harbours unique flora due to its phytogeographical flowers were carried out in the Bara Bazaar of Aizawl location. It is inhabited by different communities like city taken as reference point. Thirty market vendors of Mizos, Maras, Lais, Pangs, Bawms, Hmars, Paites, different age groups (30 years – 60 years) were taken as Brus, Chakmas, Mogs etc. and forms the highest the sample group for the study and consulted for the percentage of tribal population (94.8%) in India19. information with respect to type of edible flowers, Forest coverage of the state is highest in India with sources and their uses along with the market price. Local 88.93% and supports great diversity of biological terms have been used while describing the mode of uses resources20. Two districts were selected for the study, of the flowers. These terms are ‘Bai’ a form of mix Aizawl (12, 588 km2) and Champhai (3,185 km2) boiling and ‘Tauh’ a form of dish prepared with oil and districts of Mizoram (Fig. 1). condiments after boiling. These terms represent the common traditional mode of preparation of dishes by the Survey, Interview and Plant Collection Mizo. All the findings are summarized in a table with Intensive survey programmes were conducted during their botanical name, family, vernacular names in Mizo, 2015-2016. During the present study, 45 informants voucher no., market value, mode of uses and their life were selected from 10 villages of Aizawl and Champhai form, wild or cultivated form and Relative Frequency district and data on edible flowers collected based on Citation (RFC) index value. Photographs of most of the semi-structured questionnaire. A free, prior and edible flowers are also given in Fig. 2 & Fig 3. informed consent was solicited from each informant explaining the objectives of the study. Information was Calculation gathered through face-to-face interviews guided by the RFC index shows the local importance of each semi-structured questionnaire. The survey was primarily species without considering the use-categories23,24. based on information gathered from the people with the The RFC of reported species was calculated by using age of informants range from 30 to 80 years that include the following index: both male and female respondents. Market values of plants with edible flowers are taken into consideration in RFC = FC/N (0<RFC<1) the present study by following the market survey 21 Where, FC is the number of informants mentioning method by Singh et al. (1988) . The specimens the use of the species and N is the total number of collected were identified, documented and were then informants participating in the survey. deposited in the Herbarium, Department of Botany, Mizoram University (MZUH) following Jain and Rao Results and Discussion 22 (1977) herbarium methods. Demographic data and cultural background of In the present study, a plant with edible flower maybe Informants a cumulative term including various parts like flowers, Out of the total 45 informants, 73.53% were flower buds, whole inflorescence, tender shoots, stems, women and 26.47% were men. This is an indication leaves, bracts and tendrils etc. or simply the flowers. that women are far more knowledgeable regarding the This is because some flowers are consumed along with usage of edible flowers as compare to men. Most of the informants were aged between 30 years - 50 years (47.05%) followed by 51 years - 65 years (35.29%) and above 65 years contributing only 14.70%. It is evident that the younger generations are more actively involved in housekeeping tasks like cooking, menu making of kitchen, shopping of household items including vegetables, harvesting/collection of wild flowers for consumption or their domestication in kitchen gardens. This agrees with the role of women with great knowledge in many indigenous societies to provide uninterrupted supply of healthy food by making arrangements of the daily needs Fig. 1 — Location map of Mizoram showing study areas of their families. Women’s traditional knowledge 716 INDIAN J TRADIT KNOW, OCTOBER 2019 Fig. 2 — Edible flowers (inflorescence) of Mizoram: – (a & b) Acmella paniculata (Wall. ex DC.) R. K.Jansen; (c) Allium chinense G. Don.; (d & e) Allium hookerii Thwaites; (f) Alocasia fornicata (Roxb.) Schott; (g) Amomum dealbatum Roxb.; (h) Bauhinia purpurea L.; (i) B. variegata L.;(j) Begonia longifolia Blume;(k) Callicarpa arborea Roxb.; (l) Carica papaya L.; (m) Chenopodium album L.; (n) Clerodendrum glandulosum Lindl.; (o) Crassocephalum crepidioides (Benth.) S. Moore; (p) Crotalaria tetragona Andrews; (q) Cucurbita maxima Duchesne; (r) Curcuma angustifolia Roxb.; (s) C. longa L.; (t) Dendrocnide sinuata (Blume) Chew; (u) Dysoxylum excelsum Blume KHOMDRAM et al.: LOCAL KNOWLEDGE OF EDIBLE FLOWERS USED IN MIZORAM 717 Fig. 3 — Edible flowers (inflorescence) of Mizoram : (a) Elsholtzia griffithii Hook.f.; (b) Eryngium foetidum L.; (c) Glinus opositifolius (L.) Aug. DC.; (d) Gmelina arborea Roxb.;(e) Houttuynia cordata Thunb.; (f)Livistona chinensis (Jacq.) Pers. R.Br.ex Mart.; (g) Musa balbisiana var. liukiuensis (Matsum.) Häkkinen;(h)M. x paradisiaca L.;(i)M. ornata Roxb.; (j) Ocimum americanum L.; (k) Osbeckia stellata Buch.-Ham. ex Ker Gawl.; (l)Pavetta crassicaulis Bremek.; (m) Persicaria chinensis (L.) H. Gross; (n) Phlogacanthus pubinervius T. Anderson; (o) Rotheca serrata (L.) Steane & Mabb.;(p) Thunbergia grandiflora (Roxb. ex Rottl.) Roxb.; (q) Trevesia palmata (Roxb. ex Lindl.) Vis.; (r) Vaccinium sprengelii (G.Don) Sleumer; (s) Viburnum sp.; (t) Wendlandia budleioides Wall.ex Wight & Arn.; (u)Zingiber officinale Roscoe 718 INDIAN J TRADIT KNOW, OCTOBER 2019 originated from the actual needs, problems, interests domesticator to conservator and food provider to and aspirations at home and in the communities that nutritionist25,26.